Obsessions Part One: Dark Eyes
by Sealeena
Summary: Sam's having dreams that at times seem so real she can't tell the difference between fake and reality. Are these dreams omens of deeds to come, or is she losing her sanity? Please R&R! COMPLETE
1. Mirror Image

Disclaimer- I do not, in any way, own Danny Phantom and am not making any money from this at all. So please, I beg you, don't sue. 

Part One: Dark Eyes

Chapter One: Mirror Image

The object of my affection 

_is the object of my obsession._

_She looks at me, but doesn't see my eyes._

_I hide in the shadows of lies,_

_of self-doubt and darkness._

_Yet seeing her gives me never ending bliss._

_But not being able to touch, to be,_

_she doesn't even really know me._

_She's always around._

_I wish she had never been found._

_I would never feel this,_

_such a yearn for just one kiss._

Sam walked along the pavement set straight out before her. She had always been told to take the hardest path, because it was the best, yet here she was, taking a paved path, so easy and simple. Was there any significance in this?

No.

She just thought way too much. She usually did. While thinking may have been fine, her thoughts often wandered to off the wall subjects, uninteresting information, and certain ghost boys. She sighed and kicked a lone rock in front of her. It bounced and clicked its way along, only to stop a few feet ahead, its journey stopped by a small crevice.

She frowned.

Was this another sign, an omen of things to pass?

Nope.

"Sam!" She smiled inwardly as the oh so familiar voice called her name. She turned and saw him, knew that he would meet her sooner or later. He always did, Danny. "How come you weren't at your house this morning?" He stopped to take a breath. "You're not very morning friendly."

She arched an eyebrow and continued her easy path along the paved road. She didn't want to tell him why she had left so early, why she had stayed up all night, afraid to go to sleep. She couldn't possibly tell him about the nightmares she had been having. She couldn't. She didn't have dreams that left her breathless, covered in a cold sweat. She just wasn't that kind of person.

To change the subject, she asked, "Where's Tucker? He usually catches up to us by now." The hairs on her neck went back down as she tried to be more lax. The tension in her body faded.

Going along, he shrugged his shoulders. "He's probably after some unfortunate girl in hopes for getting a date to the dance tomorrow night." He looked at the sky hopefully. "Maybe Paulina will go with me…"

She bit down the murderous image of her holding Paulina's decapitated head in her hand, laughing triumphantly. While it would have been a nice plan, she decided that might not have been morally right. What she did do was smack Danny upside the head.

He let out a yelp of pain and rubbed his tingling scalp. Sam tried to control the smile playing at her lips, but couldn't hold it in when he tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and fell flat on his face. She let laughter flow out while she helped her clumsy friend up, and had him soon joining in.

Maybe the road she was walking wasn't so easy. It was just full of hidden dangers. Again, there was too much thought.

"That wasn't funny," he stated. She stopped laughing. "What'd you do that for?"

She put the murderous image, this time with Danny, back down and let out a growl instead. "Honestly, Danny, Paulina is never going to go for you and you know that's true. I was just trying to knock some sense back into your head."

That was an amazing save, well, not really. She gave herself a six out of ten, due to lack of originality. That was bad if she was running out of new things to say, because this might be a sign that she was no longer an individual, but part of the mass of everyday people that she so despised.

Nah.

"Well…" His voice brought her back down to the planet formally known as Earth. That was good that her thoughts didn't wander too far this time. She had a tendency to space out.

"What?"

"I was wondering then…if you'd, um…" He stopped, making her stop. He scratched his head, embarrassed, a blush rising to his cheeks. "Do you…want to go to the dance…together, just us?"

It took Sam a moment to understand that he was talking to her. It took her even longer to understand that he was basically asking her out on a date. Whenever they went to a dance, the movies, or any other public place, Tucker was along. It had always been the three of them as friends, nothing more, nothing less.

So why did she feel so happy?

Of course, she told herself, it was okay to listen to her hormones, like a normal teenager. She couldn't deny that she had a crush on her best friend for some time now, but it was still hard. Maybe it was hard because she didn't want to lose her friend. Was that why she was afraid of going out with him?

Then again, she had been waiting for this time for what seemed forever. She wanted to be an item; and, if she was going to be an item, she would rather it be with Danny than anyone else. Why did she have to think about a yes or no answer so much?

"S- sure." She felt the blush hit her face and she cursed her face. "That'd be…cool."

He grinned, widely. "Cool."

They continued down the street in silence now. Sam stared at the paved road before her. Maybe it was okay to take an easy path, as long as one kept their eyes open.

Danny, as nonchalantly as possible, took her hand. He held it and she felt her heart skip a beat. She thought he might let go when they go to school, but he didn't let go of it, not until they hit the doors. Reluctantly, they both let go and face the prison that was often referred to as high school.

Sam got to her locker. He stood behind her, like they had done forever, but this felt different. She couldn't help but smile at how well her fortune was…until she opened her locker.

She looked into the mirror and looked for Danny, only he wasn't there. In his place was his ghost half. He stared at her with his green eyes, almost menacingly; but, there was something else there too. She had known instantly this wasn't Danny, because those green eyes were staring at her with an insane obsession, a dark hunger…for her.

Before she could get a word out, the ghost winked and disappeared. Now, it was only Danny, staring at her confused, worried.

"Sam." His hand touched her shoulder. She flinched. "Is something wrong?"

She slammed the door shut and put on a smile. Quickly, she turned around, almost half expecting the ghost to be there, but it wasn't, so she tried to act like nothing was wrong. A sigh of relief escaped her.

"I'm fine," she answered. "Let's go."

Not looking back, she almost ran down the surprisingly empty hallway. Danny called to her, but she didn't hear him. All she could focus on were the green eyes that held the insanely dark obsession in them. It had been just like her dream, but no…this was worse, because she knew that it was real.

Maybe it was time she told someone what was happening.

End Chapter

Author's Notes- For the people who have read this before, you're probably wondering what in the world I'm thinking. Well, I read my story and I realized that it just didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Originally, I wanted to base it off of the beginning poem, but it didn't turn out like that, so now I've done a massive rewrite. That's right boys and girls, you read it. I'm redoing the entire story! Don't worry, though, because this will be just as good. In fact, it's going to be darker and more sinister…muahahahahaha. As always, I appreciate C&C, so tell me what you think. Ciao.


	2. Astral Voice

Disclaimer- I do not, in any way, own Danny Phantom and am not making any money from this at all. So please, I beg you, don't sue. 

Part One: Dark Eyes

Chapter Two: Astral Voice

The object of my affection 

_is the object of my obsession._

_She looks at me, but doesn't see my eyes._

_I hide in the shadows of lies,_

_of self-doubt and darkness._

_Yet seeing her gives me never ending bliss._

_But not being able to touch, to be,_

_she doesn't even really know me._

_She's always around._

_I wish she had never been found._

_I would never feel this,_

_such a yearn for just one kiss._

"Something's wrong." Danny was standing in line with Tucker, both of them behind Sam. She hadn't said a word since she had been at her locker, and now her two friends were worried.

"When did she start acting like this?" Tucker asked.

Danny thought for a moment, and then realization dawned on his face. "It was after we were at her locker. She got all freaked out when she looked in the mirror. She looked like she saw a ghost." He winced. "That was bad, but you get the idea."

"Maybe she saw a monster." Tucker looked over at Sam's back. "Maybe she realized Goth is really creepy!" He didn't get a reaction besides a flinch and frowned. He turned back to Danny. "Okay. Something is definitely wrong."

They held up their trays and shuddered as the…food…fell onto their plates with a thud. Tucker sniffed it, only to turn a slight shade of green. Sam had nothing more than a salad, as usual, but sat at the very edge of the table, not in the middle of the seat.

Danny sat beside her, Tucker beside him. The two boys leaned over and stared at Sam. Finally coming back down to civilization, she glared back at them.

"What are you looking at?" The harshness of tone surprised her and she instantly became apologetic. "You guys…I'm so sorry. It's just been…a rough day."

"Sam," Danny said. "I'm in all of your classes. It wasn't rough."

"Actually," Tucker butted in, "they were surprisingly easy. We haven't had any homework today. This should be marked as a holiday or something!"

Danny shoved Tucker away and scooted closer. He studied her face, frowning even more as each time he came to a dead end about what her emotions were. Finally, she let him have one. Tired. It wasn't just your sleepy tired, but the I'm-tired-of-all-the-crap-you're-giving-me tired.

"Get out of my face before I make you." Her threat was genuine and Danny found himself scrambling back into Tucker. She gave a disturbing smile. "Thank you. Now, if you hormonally challenged youths will excuse me, I have to go."

"But Sam—" Danny was cut off as she whirled on him.

"Just give me a couple minutes by myself." She held up her hand. "Five minutes and I'll be fine. My five minutes start now, so. Leave. Me. Alone."

She stormed out of the cafeteria, almost knocking down a few innocent bystanders in the process and receiving numerous looks. Danny stood, confused, while Tucker peeked his head up from underneath the table. During Sam's outburst, technology geek had found himself trying to hide from the Goth's outburst in any way.

"She's gone, right?" he asked.

Danny sighed. "Yeah."

For a moment, he contemplated what Sam's problem could be, but for only a moment. The one day he wasn't expecting it, a ghost jumped into the cafeteria. Tables, food, and students went flying. Normally, while most of the ghosts Danny had fought had only terrorized humans by scaring the living daylights out of them, this one did more.

It was terrifying enough in appearance. It was slouching, a full ten feet. It had the face of a dragon, but had a hulking body that looked like a cross between a giant lion and some kind of ape creature, because it rested on its hind legs and used it arms as a human would.

Speaking of humans…the ghost creature grabbed a nearby student. Danny realized he couldn't change ghost and knew that the innocent would die by the way they were being shoved towards the creature's mouth. He felt desperation welling up inside him.

Then…he was out of his body, but his ghost self. He looked down at himself. He looked as if he was…sleeping, but how? What did he do? Wait. Did he, maybe astral project? There was no time to think and he could ask Sam about it later.

"Stop!" He shouted.

It was enough to buy him time because the ghost creature stopped for just a moment to stare at him. He let fly an endoplasmic beam, careful to not hit the now human hostage, but hit the creature squarely in the chest. A portal started to form and it looked down at itself, letting out a screech.

Danny Phantom flew towards the monster and grabbed the innocent it still held. The creature howled even louder as it was dragged back into the hellish depths of the ghost zone. Soon, it had disappeared into the portal and the portal itself vanished.

He set the teenager down and already felt himself floating back towards his body. He didn't fly into his body, but merely his ghost self disappeared and he woke up. Tucker was staring at him in aw, but broke out of the trance.

"Dude!" he exclaimed. "That was awesome! What…how did you do that?"

"I don't know." Danny looked down at his hands, very much confused. "I don't know."

Sam had run off to the girl's bathroom after leaving the cafeteria. Now, she sat in a stall, clutching her head, as if it could, in any way, ward off the disturbing images she had seen as of late. Her eyes closed for a moment and she was awarded with the insanely hungry ghost eyes.

She gasped and her eyes flew open again; but, she knew that it was no good. She hadn't had a good night's sleep for almost a week, and it was taking a toll on her. She felt sluggish, weak, and extremely paranoid. The locker incident made her more so.

Maybe a cup of coffee would work. She heard a sound, like the scuffling of feet. She peeked her head out, and saw that no one was around. Scratch the one cup and make that ten.

She slid down to the floor so that her back was resting against the stall door. Her head started falling down, but came sharply back up. She was so tired. She could barely keep awake. Soon, before she could even realize it, her eyes were closed and she was dozing.

"Saammm." Danny's voice…but it was sort of…different.

Slowly, Sam opened her eyes. She was still in the stall. Had she been dreaming when she thought she heard Danny's voice?

"Saammm."

There it was again. Scrambling up, she unlocked the stall door and came out into the main part of the room. She looked around, puzzled now. Wasn't he in here? Maybe his voice had carried from outside to her. But then again, it had sounded so close.

"Danny?" She went for the door, and then froze.

"You're so cute, Sam."

She whirled around and saw Danny. Only, it wasn't Danny, but his ghost self, and his eyes were the ones that she was seeing in her dreams, only this was no longer a dream, but reality itself. He grinned, his hand stretched out towards her. She let out a shriek, falling to the ground, but she knew that she couldn't run. She couldn't hide either.

Never. He'd always find her.

"We're gonna have so much fun," he whispered as he leaned down.

His arms pinned her arms to the floor and she felt truly frightened. She tried to let out a scream, but nothing came out, only the gasp of her breath. He gave a sly grin and bent down again, his lips by her ear.

"The object of my affection is the object of my obsession."

End Chapter

Author's Notes- I thought about making this longer, but I like my chapters to stay the same amount of pages. Oh well. This just means more chapters for you guys. I hoped you enjoyed this so far. I'm really trying my best to keep it creepy and dark and full of suspense. Is this enough so far? Well, keep reading and you'll find out why the ghost said that sentence, right? I hope you want to find out, anyways. Have fun and dance life away! Ciao.


	3. Interesting Thoughts

Disclaimer- I do not, in any way, own Danny Phantom and am not making any money from this at all. So please, I beg you, don't sue. 

Part One: Dark Eyes

Chapter Three: Interesting Thoughts

The object of my affection 

_is the object of my obsession._

_She looks at me, but doesn't see my eyes._

_I hide in the shadows of lies,_

_of self-doubt and darkness._

_Yet seeing her gives me never ending bliss._

_But not being able to touch, to be,_

_she doesn't even really know me._

_She's always around._

_I wish she had never been found._

_I would never feel this,_

_such a yearn for just one kiss._

"The object of my affection is the object of my obsession," he repeated. "You'll wake and remember: The object of my affection is the object of my obsession."

Sam closed her eyes and opened them. He was gone. She let out the breath she had been holding, allowing fresh air to flow through her. She looked at the toilet in front of her and frowned.

Wait a minute.

She had gotten out of the stall, hadn't she? Oh no. She remembered that she had closed her eyes. Had she fallen asleep? But…it had been so vivid. She had thought it was real. Maybe it had been.

Maybe she was thinking too much again.

The school bell rang. That must've been the signal for lunch period ending. Shakily, she got to her feet and made her way out of the bathroom. She looked left and then right. There were students, going about their normal lives, talking, grabbing books, walking to class.

She made her way to her locker. For a moment, she stared at it, afraid to open it, because Danny's ghost half might be there, ready to drag her to some dark void or maybe jump out and slit her throat before she had a chance.

There it was again, too much thinking. She should have that ten cups of coffee now.

Steadying herself, she slowly opened the locker door. She looked in the mirror and saw…nothing. It was fine, there wasn't anything there. The encounter earlier must have been part of her largely fed imagination. She should have known better.

"Hey, Sam." She almost jumped three feet, but didn't. It was Danny, with his plain old voice, just like always. "You okay?"

She grabbed her books. "Yeah." She turned around. "Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"Um. Yeah."

Her heart stopped for a moment.

"I got a new power." Her heart resumed its usual beat. "I think it was astral projection, but maybe you know better."

"What happened?" That was good, something to let her mind occupy itself.

"Well, there was this weird monster in the cafeteria after you left, and it grabbed somebody." He stopped for a moment, as if unsure how to proceed. "I couldn't go ghost, not with everyone watching and I felt really desperate to save the person cause the monster was going to eat them."

"Wait. Hold it." Sam rubbed her temples. "You said the ghost was going to eat the person? That never happens. They don't really hurt people like that."

"This one was. Anyways…I felt really desperate…and all of a sudden, I had turned ghost. Only, I looked down and saw my human self sleeping. Well, I saved the day, etc. etc. and then I woke up as myself again. What is it?"

"Your right," she said. "It was probably astral projection."

She slammed the locker shut, grateful for no other ghostly encounters. Tucker walked up to them, holding his organizer. He was muttering to himself, mostly about whether to ask Valerie out right now or after school. Both Sam and Danny rolled their eyes.

"Hey you guys," he greeted. "Do you think I should ask Valerie to—"

"After school," they both answered.

"I still don't think you should date one of my most annoying enemies," Danny muttered.

"I have to admit that's pretty bad," she added.

"But…you two are dating!" Tucker protested.

"We are not dating!" they both yelled at him.

"Really?" A smirk came to Tucker's face. "Who are you going with to the dance tomorrow night?"

They both became silent and a blush rose up to their faces. Tucker's smirk became a full blown grin. He loved being right. The only thing better than being right was getting a date to tomorrow night's dance. This time, he wouldn't be going with his two friends as friends or a third wheel, but he'd have a date of his own…finally.

"I gotta go," he said. "I'll catch up with you two lovebirds later."

Before they could voice a unison disagreement, he ran off. Danny grumbled angrily at how technology geeks should have small mouths. Sam could only let out a slight smile and began walking to science class, Danny tagging behind and still grumbling.

"We aren't dating because we haven't gone out on a date," she heard him say. "Tucker is such an idiot." He noticed that she was watching him and he blushed. "Um…sorry. I didn't…I mean—"

"You didn't mean for me to hear that," she finished for him.

"Unfortunately, yeah," he admitted. He blushed yet again. "Sorry about that."

"Did you mean it, though?" She felt the blush rising to her face as well. She figured her hair might as well catch on fire now. She would welcome some kind of attack as well.

"I guess so," he answered. "I…don't know."

She grabbed his hand lightly. He accepted and they were both silent on the way to class. Just like on the way to school, they let go of each other as they entered the doorway.

From that alone, it felt as if it were a promise of many things to come. Did this mean that things between Danny and her would become just more than "friends"? She had heard that relationships, when it came to dating, lasted the longest when with friends. Could this mean that she and Danny would have a relationship soon?

She sighed.

She was thinking too much again.

End Chapter

Author's Notes- No flames please! I'm sorry if this was anticlimactic, but I promise it'll get better, especially with the dance and all. I just wanted readers to know that Sam and Danny and Tucker are still teenagers, and ghosts are part of their everyday lives. She's just chalking up these encounters as nightmares, because nothing's happened yet. I promise, though, that something will happen…very soon! Keep reading my readers. Ciao.


	4. Shattered Mind

Disclaimer- I do not, in any way, own Danny Phantom and am not making any money from this at all. So please, I beg you, don't sue. 

Part One: Dark Eyes

Chapter Four: Shattered Mind

The object of my affection 

_is the object of my obsession._

_She looks at me, but doesn't see my eyes._

_I hide in the shadows of lies,_

_of self-doubt and darkness._

_Yet seeing her gives me never ending bliss._

_But not being able to touch, to be,_

_she doesn't even really know me._

_She's always around._

_I wish she had never been found._

_I would never feel this,_

_such a yearn for just one kiss._

Sam studied herself in the mirror. It was the night of the dance and she wasn't sure if she had picked out the right dress. It was silky black, and clung to her form, but fell out in folds at her waist. She felt that the top may be to low cut, but then again, at least it wasn't a spaghetti-strap of the sort.

In fact, the more she looked at it, the better she felt about the dress. She had her hair spiked, with a few sparkling black accessories in them. The thing she liked most was the bracelet and matching necklace and earrings. They were a deep purple amethyst and the stones were shaped as teardrops.

For once, she didn't mind dressing so girly. Actually, this was kind of fun. It was fun to pretend that she was some kind of royalty, waiting for her escort for the evening. It was always fun to pretend, to have an imagination. That's what made fantasies so appealing.

One knew they wouldn't happen, but it was just so much fun. It was always good to escape from the real world, reality, every once in a while. That was why she loved to dream.

Dream. As of late, she couldn't dream. She still couldn't get a good sleep. Last night, she kept herself up with loud music and more than a few scary movies at the movie theater in her basement. Then, she had gone and entertained herself with some bowling.

Her strike against sleep had been a success and now here she was, waiting for the dance. She bit back a yawn and looked in the mirror. She smiled…but then a ghostly image came beside her. It was Danny's ghost self, dressed in the black jumpsuit, silver gloves, silver boots and the Danny Phantom emblem on his chest.

He gave a sly grin. Although she knew no one was behind her, Sam couldn't help but think there might be. She turned her head and saw nothing. She looked back in the mirror and saw that the ghost had disappeared. Maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her.

"She looks at me, but doesn't see my eyes." His breath fell on her ear and she let out a startled gasp. She turned around and saw Danny Phantom, but it wasn't him, but that evil presence. "Surprised to see me when you're wide awake?"

"What…are you!" Her back fell against the mirror. "Who are you?"

"You must've figured out by now that I'm not Danny Phantom," he said. "If you must know, I'm the deepest darkness in a soul. I'm the thing that keeps you awake at night and fearful of unknown corners. I'm the hunger, the shadow that one never admits, but harbors it. If you give me a name, why don't we make it Shade?"

The doorbell rang, but she didn't hear it. Sam couldn't help but stare at Shade, this apparition that looked so much like Danny Phantom. Was he really what he said? What confused her most was that he said something about the soul. Was he a manifestation of Danny's dark part of the soul?

"Who the hell are you!" Both Shade and Sam turned their heads to see Danny, anger and confusion written on his features. "You get away from her!"

He went ghost and flew at Shade, knocking him down to the ground. Shade laughed, his voice rough, deep. Danny Phantom grabbed Shade's throat and threw him against the wall, but Shade laughed all the more. Danny let his fist hit Shade's face, but it went through his head as he went intangible and hit the wall.

"I hide in the shadows of lies, of self-doubt and darkness." He smiled at Sam and Danny, and then was just gone. There wasn't any smoke or some special magic effects or sounds. He was just there one moment and gone the next.

"Dammit!" Danny pounded his fists against the wall in frustration. He turned to Sam. "Who was that?"

"Shade," she whispered. "But…I don't get it. I'm not dreaming, am I?" She pinched herself and winced. That had hurt. "Great. This isn't a dream."

Danny transformed back so that he was dressed in the black suit with white tie. Sam felt what seemed like a pang of guilt. Poor Danny. He had been looking forward to the dance all week, and he was dressed so nice, but then something had to come and ruin it all.

"Are you okay?" He walked over to her and studied her, concerned. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No." She brushed off his concern with an air of indifference. "He was just scaring me."

"I'm worried, Sam."

"Why?"

"You need to wake up."

Sam opened her eyes and saw Danny standing above her, worried. She was lying on the floor now, with a shattered mirror beneath her. She was dreaming…again! But…she had pinched herself. It had hurt. No one got hurt in their dreams, did they?

"Danny…what happened?" she asked.

"I don't know. I was knocking on your door and I heard a crash." He stroked her hair. "I came in and saw you on the floor with a broken mirror. Hey…you're bleeding!"

She looked down at her arm and saw that the wound was in the same exact place where she had pinched herself. What was going on around here? Was she beginning to lose sanity from lack of sleep? Or, were the nightmares just becoming more vivid.

"Maybe we shouldn't go," he offered as he helped her up. "You've been acting strange all week."

"No!" She gave herself a swift, mental kick for saying that too fast. Her gaze softened. "No. I'm fine, I just…tripped. That's all. Let's go and have fun."

She grabbed his hand and practically dragged him out the door. His moped was on the curb. Sam let a small sigh escaped her lips as Danny threw her the helmet.

"One of us really needs to get a license," she muttered as she hopped on the seat.

"Mom said I can get mine next week," he replied. The motor roared to life and they sped off at a whopping thirty miles per hour. "That'll be awesome!"

And they raced off into the dark streets. With nothing but shadows and a small chill of a wind, Sam couldn't help but think of the more severe nightmares that were occurring. At this rate, she would have to fall asleep. It was dangerous to doze off.

But…could it be that she was actually losing her mind? Could this be a breaking point? Or, was this maybe some hidden sign of events to come?

Whatever it was, Sam didn't like the looks of either outcome, especially if the last possibility was the actual scenario. She would gladly choose insanity instead.

The school loomed ahead…and little did Sam or Danny know what was going to happen.

End Chapter

Author's Notes- And again, the result was anticlimactic. Well, maybe things will start getting interesting in chapter five! I hope you guys are enjoying this so far and I'd really appreciate some C&C. It's what keeps me going and I hope you guys support me, because I really like to know that people read my work and actually like it. Well, stay tuned for chapter five. Ciao.


	5. Broken Awakening

Disclaimer- I do not, in any way, own Danny Phantom and am not making any money from this at all. So please, I beg you, don't sue.

Part One: Dark Eyes

Chapter Five: Broken Awakening

The object of my affection 

_is the object of my obsession._

_She looks at me, but doesn't see my eyes._

_I hide in the shadows of lies,_

_of self-doubt and darkness._

_Yet seeing her gives me never ending bliss._

_But not being able to touch, to be,_

_she doesn't even really know me._

_She's always around._

_I wish she had never been found._

_I would never feel this,_

_such a yearn for just one kiss._

The music at Casper High could be heard for at least a block away. Couples were lining up and the doorway was packed. Danny hopped off and held out his hand. Sam accepted it and they headed for the line. A few people looked their way and began to whisper and point.

"Danny!" Paulina came walking up, Dash behind her. She frowned at Sam immediately. "I see that you have a date for the evening?"

"Um…yeah." He gripped Sam's hand tighter. "We thought we'd go together. Um…I see you're with Dash?"

It was more a question because he was so nervous. Dash lifted up a fist, threatening. Danny cowered a little. Sam rolled her eyes, with more than enough obvious disgust. When would everyone grow up and forget about the pettiness that high school held?

"Well, I hope you stay for the dance!" Paulina smiled. "Bye, Danny." She threw him a flirtatious smile.

She and Dash walked into the building, blending into the large crowd.

"What was that all about?" he asked Sam.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know…She probably just wants to catch a glimpse of the "ghost boy" she loves so much."

"How do you think she would react?"

"React? React how?" Realization dawned on her face. "You can't be serious! Danny. She's a shallow little puddle of nothing! She couldn't keep the secret and you know it!"

"I know, I know," he said. "I was kidding. Jeez. Calm down."

"Whatever." She tugged him along. "Let's go have some fun!"

"You guys having fun?" Tucker asked as he walked up to Danny and Sam. They glared at his date. "You all know Valerie, right?"

"I really wish I didn't," Sam muttered.

"So…Danny." Valerie knocked Sam out of the way. "Have your parents found anything out about the ghost boy yet?"

"No," he replied, "and I doubt they will." A slow song started and he breathed a sigh of relief. "If you'll excuse me, I have a dance to attend."

He grabbed Sam and whisked her out onto the dance floor. He looked back to see Valerie fuming, and Tucker trying to take advantage by asking to dance. She left him and went for the restroom. Danny couldn't help but grin at his good luck.

He turned his attention to Sam. "So…having a good time?" She looked so gorgeous in that black dress. "You look really…pretty." He winced at the lack of words.

"T- thanks." She blushed. "You really think so?"

"Definitely. It's perfect for you." He bit back a gulp.

Sam looked up at the clock and looked a bit surprised. He followed her gaze and saw that it was already midnight. That was sort of strange. The dance had gone a lot faster than he'd thought it would. In fact, this evening was just about perfect…except for one thing.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked. "Alone?"

She nodded and he led them both to the football field. Sam looked around, confused at the change of mood in the air. Danny took a breath and turned around to face her.

"Sam I kind of wanted to ask you this for a while…" He trailed off, embarrassed. It was as if he couldn't find the words. "What I wanted to ask is—"

"Look out!" She knocked him to the ground and they both looked up into the sky. "Shade," she whispered.

"What the hell…" Danny was surprised. No, shocked was a better word to describe his state of mind. What he saw, floating in the air was none other than his ghost self, except he knew it wasn't him, was it? "Who are you?"

He got up, pulling Sam with him. He could feel her trembling. That was strange. He could understand her being confused or surprised, but it was almost as if she was trembling in fear. What was going on?

"Yet seeing her gives me never ending bliss," he said. Danny felt Sam stumble back, gasp in terror. "Little Danny Fenton…You should know better than to mess with someone's girl."

It took Danny a moment to understand that he was talking about Sam. Danny instantly went on the defensive and allowed the change to happen. He felt anger coursing through him now, a rage that was growing, especially when the look alike smirked at him.

"Who are you?" he repeated.

"I'm the deepest darkness in a soul. I'm the thing that keeps you awake at night and fearful of unknown corners. I'm the hunger, the shadow that one never admits, but harbors it. If you give me a name, why don't we make it Shade?" He smiled, cruelly. While the introduction had been basically the same as with Sam, it still served to cause the amount of desired tension. "Since we all know each other, why don't you let Sam come with me?"

"No way!" Danny turned back to Sam. He grasped her shoulders. "I want you to run and hide, got it?"

"It won't matter." She shook her head. "He always finds me. He never goes away!"

"Sam…" He let go of her shoulders. "What are you talking about?"

"Too slow." Danny barely had his head turned around before he got a punch in the gut. He fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Shade smiled as he kicked at the fallen ghost boy. "You're quite the weakling. I don't know what Sam sees in you." He laughed as he got a cry of pain from Danny.

"Get away!" Danny let fly an endoplasmic beam, hitting Shade in the chest. The ghost went flying and hit the bleachers. "Now who's the weakling?"

Shade appeared before Danny. There wasn't any flash or smoke, but he was just there. It was as if he had been in one place on second and then another the next. He let fly another punch, but Danny turned intangible and the shot was no good.

Shade fell to the ground and growled. "It appears that this fight might get serious." An endoplasmic sword appeared in his hand. "Game start."

End Part One

Author's Notes- Sooo…what did all you readers think? Was this okay? I hope so, because this ends part one, because Sam isn't dreaming about this any more! Cool! Chapter one for part two should be up and on its way very soon, so I hope you keep an eye out for it. As always, I really, really, REALLY appreciate C&C! I hope that more and more people read this, because what's the point of writing something if nobody reads it? Coming soon: Part Two: Shadow Man. Stay tuned! Ciao.


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